BIRDS OF THE MOUNTAINS 



WILLIAM W. PRICB 



THE mountain birds of California are in general entirely different from 

 the birds found in the valleys. Each mountain or mountain range 

 has different zones of bird life; that is, certain birds inhabit well- 

 defined areas of elevation, beyond which they do not pass. To 

 illustrate: the valley quail, the housefinch, and the California woodpecker 

 are found up into the foothills to about twenty-five hundred feet elevation. 

 Here they cease to be found, but their places are taken by the mountain 

 quail, purple finch, and the red-breasted sapsucker, which in turn reach an 

 elevation of about eight thousand feet. Here a new set comes in, the pine 

 grosbeak, the rosy finch, and the three-toed woodpecker, which are found 

 to timber-line, nine to twelve thousand feet. 



This inhabiting of certain elevations is characteristic of almost every 

 species of bird found in mountain regions. One common exception is the 

 chipping-sparrow, a small, long-tailed, chestnut-crowned bird, which is 

 found from sea-level to timber-line. 



The grouse is about the size of a large hen, and in different parts of the 

 country is called the dusky grouse, blue grouse, pheasant, spruce partridge, 

 and mountain-hen. The mountain quail is somewhat larger than the valley 

 quail, and has richer chocolate and olive markings. The plumes are long 

 and slender and extend backward over the shoulders, not curved forward, 

 as In the valley quail. The mountain quail is more retiring in its habits, 

 does not run so much, and has for a call-note a single short whistle. 



Water-birds are not numerous about Lake Tahoe in the summer, 

 though many kinds stop for a few days in spring and fall, but we may see 

 the California gull, two kinds of tern (sometimes called "sea swallows"), 

 the little black tern, and the larger white bird, Forster's tern. Flocks of 

 white pelicans may sometimes pass over, and ducks — mallard, teal, and 

 perhaps some others — nest with the terns in the marshes at the southern 

 end of the lake. Blackbirds of two or three kinds, together with killdeer, 

 jacksnipe, and a few sandpipers are also found in these marshes. 



The golden eagle is sometimes seen, and a pair have their nest on the 

 southern crags of Mt. Tallac. There are a few hawks and owls. Wood- 

 peckers are numerous, and two or three species may be seen in any day's 

 walk. The huge crow-like, pileated woodpecker, with his long scarlet 

 crest, the red-shafted flicker, the red-breasted sapsucker, Williamson's 

 sapsucker, the white-headed woodpecker, Cabanis's woodpecker, with 

 spotted wings and gray breast, and Lewis' woodpecker are in the list. 



Next after the woodpeckers the sparrow family is the most important. 

 The little black-headed snowbird belongs here, the most common of the 

 birds. The thick-billed sparrow, a grayish bird with spotted breast and 

 very large bill, is found on all the brushy hillsides, and is noted for its mar- 

 velously rich song. Others of the family are the purple finch, the pine- 

 finch, small, short of wing and tail, and streaked, the green-tailed towhee, 

 with its cat-like call, and the white-crowned sparrow. 



There are warblers, wrens, and vireos of a dozen or so species. There 

 are also that group of small insect-feeding, trunk-haunting birds, the 

 creepers, nuthatches, and chickadees. The water-ouzel, or dipper, will 

 be frequently seen in the mountain streams, often diving into the foaming 

 water in its search for insects. 



Of the thrush family there are several species, the robin, bluebird, the 

 grayish solitaire, which looks very much like the mocking-bird of more 

 genial climes. One other bird you must surely hear, even if you do not see 

 it. It is the hermit-thrush, small, delicate, with spotted breast, a shy bird, 

 frequenter of the deepest willow and aspen thickets. 



The western tanager is the most gaudy of our birds. Among the wind- 

 tossed pines high upon the ridges is found Clarke's crow. 



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